Curling iron



1,6 June 1927' M. F. FITZGERALD 33 171 CURLING IRON Patented June 21, 1927.

narra e srAras I I 1,633,171 PATENT OFFICE;

MAURICE F. FITZGERALD, OF WINSTED, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE FITZGERALD COMPANY, OF 'WINSTED, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT oUnLING IRON.

Application filed January 19, 1926 Serial No. 82,302.

This invention relates to improvements in electric curling irons and in particular to the means for supporting the tong.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide means whereby the tong and guard are'easily and quickly separable from each other without the use of tools.

Another object is to provide a mount for securing the guard upon'the tong Which employs a rigid metal lifter, which may be easily and readily removed from the assemblage when dismounted.

A further object is to provide a tong and guard assembly in which a coiled wire spring may be employedfor holding the guard in operative relation with. the tong.

With these and other objects in view as will appear in the course of the following specification and claims, there is represented on the accompanying drawing one form of execution of this device, and

Figure 1 is an elevation of a complete curling iron according to this invention.

Fig. 2 is a detail section substantially on the axis of the tong and handle.

Fig. 3 is a' section substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

The curling iron is illustrated as having a wooden handle 10 with the ferrule 11 at the forward end, and receiving the pr0jec-t-, ing tong 12. This tong is heated in any apthe guard upon propriate manner by an electric heating element having its current supplied through the lead wires 13 which pass through the bottom end of the handle. The guard 14 is of the ordinary shape and has the heat insulating button 15 for controlling its movement about the pivot 16 by which it is joined to the supporting stirrup 17 which passes around the tong 12.

In order to hold the stirrup 17 in a proper position upon the tong 12. a coil wire spring 18 is provided, which is bent into two substantially symmetrical portions lying on opposite sides of a median plane. Intermediate the length of each portion is a coil 19 which passes about the axis 16 and the spring as a whole is thereby held in assem bled relation with the guard 14 and the stirrup 17. The free ends of the respective portions pass upwardly from these coils and bear outwardly against the rear end of the guard 14, and force the guard at its operative forward portion into contact with the tong 12. The bight 20 of the wire I spring projects rearwardly and passes over a lifter tive portions of the wire spring 18. The

remaining portion of the lifter 21 is made of suflicient width to prevent the wire spring from slipping between it and the side walls of the guard 14. Y

A small screwzorpin 26 passes through the ferrule 11 into the handle 10;

The method of assembling the iron is as follows:

After the tong, ferrule and handle have been assembled, and the guard, stirrup and wire spring have been assembled, the lifter 21 is slipped into the guard 14, and by a rearward movement is brought into the approximate position with respect to the guard 14, as shown in Fig. 2. The portion 22 of the spring, however, will force the lifter in a counterclockwise direction about the pivot 16. The rear end of the guard 14 and the free end of the lifter 21 are, grasped and pressed toward eachother to compress the wire spring 18. The tong 12 is then sprung into the stirrup 17 and the guard and stirrup are moved bya relative sliding motion 'until the lifter 21 comes in contact with the stirrup 11. The lifter 21 and the rear end of the guard 14 are forced slightly closer together against the tension of the spring 18, until the lifter will pass over the projecting end of the screw 26. The lifter 21 is then allowed to return under the action of spring 18 until the screw 26 is received within the aperture 23. The device is now assembled. It may be dismounted in the reverse order.

In operation, when the button 15 of the guard 14 is depressed, the spring 18 is compressed, by reason of its engagement about the axis 16 and against the lifter 21 at the point 22. V

It is obvious that many changes may be made in the form and arrangement of the several parts without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a curling iron, a handle and a tong rigidly assembled together, a guard, a stirrup fitting about said tong, a pivotal connection between said stirrup and said guard intermediate the length of the latter, a lifter pivoted about said connection and a Wire spring coiled about said pivotal connection and having projecting portions engaging said lifter and guard to force the operative portion of said guard into engagement with said tong.

2. In a curling iron, a handle and a tong rigidly assembled together, a guard, a stirrup fitting about said tong, apivotal connection between said stirrup and said guard intermediate the length of the latter, a lifter mounted for pivotal movement relative to said guard and adapted to bear against said handle and tong assembly, and a coil spring adapted to force said lifter and the rearward portion of said guard apart and thereby bring the forward portion of said guard into operative engagement with said tong.

3. In a curling iron, a handle and a tong rigidly assembled together, a guard, a stirrup fitting about said tong, a pivotal connection between said stirrup and said guard intermediate the length of the latter, a lifter mounted for pivotal movement relative to said guard and adapted to bear against said handle and tong assembly, a spring adapted to force said lifter and the rearward ortion of said guard apart and thereby brlng the forward portion of said guard into operative engagement with said tong, and means formed on said lifter, and said assembly to prevent the guard from movement on said tong 4. In a curling iron, a handle and a tong rigidly assembled together, a guard, a stirrup fitting about said tong, a pivotal connection between said stirrup and said guard intermediate the length'of the latter, a Wire spring coiled having convolutions about said pivotal connection adjacent the stirrup and having projecting portions, a lifter having a narrow curled end journalled about said connection between said convolutions, said lifter and assembly having interengaging means to prevent said guard from moving on said tong, said projecting portions engaging said lifter and the rearward portion of said guard to hold said interengaging means in relation and to bring the forward portion of said guard into operative engagement with said tong.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature.

MAURICE F. FITZGERALD. 

